Lead & Tin

I thought I had been shot
Been shot a thousand times
It's not a shocking way to die
In the fields this side of the enemy lines

But I've fired my fair share of guns
And I know full well that bullets
Don't just fall down from the sky
So I opened up my eyes

I saw a flash of light
I saw it through the black—whoa!
I saw the flooded track
I felt the hail upon my back
Oh, I saw the start of the foggy maze
I couldn't see for several days
But then a sunbreak finally burned away the haze

You know I'd kiss you if I could
Ah, but my lips are made of wood
And it wouldn't do to splinter you
In an unfamiliar neighborhood

I dodged a ball of flames
Fueled by the dust the sun'd kicked up
A stone's throw from the tonsil crypt
I eschewed the beaten path on a SUP

Tight-lipped and planing through
The murky millrace surface
These flavescent leaves
Crispy teardrops shed from crying trees
Murmurations
"'Tis autumn?"
"No, only fallout"
Sighed beside a chemical breeze

Oh, stratocumulus
Oh, circumbendibus
I saw and ceased to push
I'd seen and heard too much
My oar became a crutch
I sculled into a reef
It sawed the board in half
I saw my former single fin
I soldered lead and tin
I sauntered out
I saw interred my kith and kin

You know I'd hold this post a while
If I could only learn to smile
But by the time I earn the privilege
Only grimaces will be in style

Surf Scoter on the pond
Coyote on the fescue
Siroccos on the flesh
Globe lightning to the rescue

An earthly comet rolling by
A stoic guide toward a new clear era
No shadows cross the sterile mind
No leks distract the prairie-chickens from their terror

I found a brand new clearing
Next to the old new clearing
A welcome change
From the adjacent older new old clearing
I didn't feel at peace
But I didn't feel at war
A welcome change

You know, I went to your old home
You know, the site of your new grave
You know, I'd pay my last respects
But the respects I have I'd better save